This is the Education Briefing, a weekly summary of the most important educational news in the United States. Subscribe here to receive this newsletter in your inbox.
Students were still missing classes in January due to a spike in Omicron cases. And the opening act: the battle to get into elite public high schools.
This year, classes in the United States are mostly open to face-to-face instruction. But this does not mean that the school is normal.
A new study by The Times found that learning continues to be interrupted: in January, children across the country missed an average of more than four days of full-time school, and a quarter of them missed a week or more.
Some data collectors have collected information on the number of districts and schools that are open, but have not documented the magnitude of the disruption for individual students.
The Times partnered with research firm Dynata to poll 148,400 parents across the country on how many days their school-age children were at home in January when disruptions were at their peak due to the Omicron surge, winter weather and other reasons.
What we found: School closures were not limited to blue cities, where anti-Covid precautions are more common. Instead, they happened all over the place.
An area in Tennessee closed for two days in January when 95 employees were out with Covid. In Utah, students study on Fridays on their own from the comfort of their homes to help teachers cope with “fatigue and burnout.” Schools in Atlanta remained closed after the winter break to slow the spread of Omicron.
On average, children missed at least three days of school in January in all states except South Dakota. States where children missed an average of a week or more included the red states of Alaska and Kentucky, and the blue states of Delaware and New Mexico.
The data shows the limits of school officials’ new strategies. Instead of locking down entire neighborhoods, educators have tried to limit the closure — by closing individual classrooms, isolating small groups of students, or closing some schools for one day.
This has allowed more children to go to school, but also means families have to deal with more unplanned and unexpected days away from school. Covid infections and lockdowns are important factors, but related issues such as teacher burnout, staff shortages and student behavior are just as important.
As masks are removed in New York and other parts of the country, and quarantine and isolation requirements ease, periodic closures may become the new normal for schools.
“It’s almost like building a house in an earthquake zone,” Dennis Roche, president of Burbio, a data firm that tracks neighborhoods, told us. “You want him to be a little flexible. You want to build multiple shock absorbers into the system.”
Legal battle that could change admission to elite high schools
Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology, one of the most prestigious high schools in the country, has changed its admissions process to try to admit more blacks and Hispanics.
On Friday, a judge declared the policy unfair to Asian Americans, saying they were “disproportionately denied a level playing field.” The county, which is located near Washington DC in Fairfax County, Virginia, is considering an appeal.
The rules for admission to the elite specialized school known as TJ did not mention race. But they have abolished the standardized testing requirement and specifically guaranteed eligibility for top students in high schools, which in the past sent few students to TJ.
After the rules went into effect, the percentage of blacks and Hispanics in the new class more than tripled, while the Asian student population fell from 73 percent to 54 percent, the lowest in years.
“The means to achieve their goal of achieving racial balance,” the judge wrote, “was to reduce the enrollment of the only racial group ‘overrepresented’ in TJ, Asian Americans. The Board has used proxies who disproportionately burden Asian American students.”
Elite high schools across the country are embarking on plans to diversify enrollment based on race and income, but they are met with fierce opposition from many parents, including many Asian Americans.
Justin Driver, a Yale law professor, said “it’s hard to overestimate the significance” of Judge Hilton’s decision, calling it “the latest and boldest sign that conservatives are once again looking to propose a radical rethinking of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.”
News about viruses
As of today, New York City has lifted the mandatory use of masks in schools, allowing local school authorities to make their own decisions.
On Friday, Maryland lifted mask requirements for schools across the state. Massachusetts’ mandate ended on Monday.
California, Oregon, and Washington will lift school mask requirements from March 12.
Gov. Ned Lamont said 85 to 90 percent of Connecticut’s school districts have gone mask-free.
Vermont has ruled that schools with student vaccination rates of 80 percent or higher can eliminate mask-wearing requirements.
More than half of major school districts no longer require masks, according to school tracking website Burbio.
Nevada’s largest public school districts can now lower substitute teacher standards to make up for shortages. Deputies only need a high school diploma to teach during the state of emergency.
What else do we read
College
Citing an invasion of Ukraine, MIT has announced that it will cut ties with the Russian university it helped create.
Sonny Perdue, a former governor of Georgia who served as secretary of agriculture during the Trump administration, will lead Georgia’s university system.
Books and curriculum policy
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is expected to sign a bill that would require schools to notify parents if designated books contain sexually explicit content.
The County of Missouri has reversed a decision to remove Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” from school libraries following protests and legal threats.
And the rest…
Teachers in Minneapolis and St. Paul are planning to strike on March 8 if their unions don’t reach deal agreements with their districts.
The Kansas State School Board has suspended the chief administrator of the state’s public school after he made an offensive comment about Native Americans.
The “fair assessment” movement is growing as teachers and parents say grades should reflect mastery of the material, not homework, behavior, or attendance.
Good reading: Supreme Court nominee Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson honed her skills on the high school debate team.
Tip: how to talk about Ukraine
Children have access to more news feeds than ever and many are worried about the war in Europe. Here are tips for talking clearly about intrusion.
Take an example from your child. Curiosity is not necessarily a sign of fear. Try to answer questions calmly and accurately, and don’t force information on them.
Look for signs of anxiety. Some children may express fear while others may withdraw into themselves. Pay attention to sleep problems, especially due to nightmares or changes in appetite.
Don’t bombard them with news. While it’s understandable to want to keep up with the news, remember that your child can watch or listen too. If you’re concerned about your child swiping doom on a device, encourage them to make smart media choices.
Get to the root. Answer their questions with deeper questions. Are they afraid that the war might spread to their own community? Do they think about what life in Ukraine might be like?
Above all, assuage their fears, but take them seriously. Remember: you can tell them if you don’t know the answer.
And if your child is worried about families in Ukraine, think about how you could help, for example, donate to charities that provide assistance. When given the opportunity to help others, children gain a sense of agency.
That’s all for this week’s briefing. If you have questions for our education journalists, please contact us using this form. We will regularly answer questions in the newsletter.
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Claire Cain Miller and Margot Sanger-Katz contributed to today’s newsletter.